


You're No One Until You're Talked About

by Winchester17



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Coming Out, Deceit, Drama, Even is Extra as Always, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gossip, Gossip Girl AU, Isak has a big storm coming, Love, M/M, mental health
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-01-26 07:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12552868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchester17/pseuds/Winchester17
Summary: Hey, Gossip Girl here, and I have the biggest news ever. One of my many sources, Julie91, sends us this: "Spotted at Oslo Airport, bags in hand: Even Bech Næsheim." Was it only a year ago our handsome, golden boy mysteriously disappeared for "boarding school" and just as suddenly he's back. Don't believe me? See for yourselves. Lucky for us, Julie91 sent proof. Thanks for the photo, Julie.-Gossip GirlEven Bech Næsheim is back in town. Some people are overjoyed at the return of Oslo's golden boy and some wishes he would go back to where he came from...any guesses to who? Well, one thing is for sure: things are about to get more interesting in Oslo.The Gossip Girl AU no one asked for.





	1. Welcome Home

_ Hey, Gossip Girl here, and I have the biggest news ever. One of my many sources, Julie91, sends us this: "Spotted at Oslo Airport, bags in hand: Even Bech  _ _ Næsheim _ _." Was it only a year ago our handsome boy mysteriously disappeared for "boarding school" and just as suddenly he's back. Don't believe me? See for yourselves. Lucky for us, Julie91 sent proof. Thanks for the photo, Julie. _

_ -Gossip Girl  _

 

Despite the fact that Even Bech  Næsheim is trying to hide himself from the public by wearing a flimsy disguise of a hoodie, snapback and sunglasses, someone notices him anyway. We thought the little golden boy would know by now that there’s no way he could ever not be seen. He was just that noticeable. 

Maybe it’s the length on those long legs or the tuft of sun kissed hair that sprouts from his hoodie or...the suitcase with his initials. We know one thing and it’s that if he truly didn't want to be seen, maybe he would’ve disguised himself better. Even surely wouldn't mind his sudden appearance being plastered on the front page of the gossip girl website. 

One of my many sources squeals as she snaps a pick of Norway’s biggest mystery. Any clues to why he returned? Gossip girl would love to know. 

❇❇❇

The news spreads around like wildfire the minute the posts is live. Soon, the only thing that comes out of anyone’s mouth is the golden boy’s return. 

And there’s no place where a news spreads faster than at a party. 

_ “Omg, have you seen this?” _

_ “I know, Even bech  _ _ Næsheim.” _

_ “God, Even in a hoodie and baggy clothes, he’s so hot.” _

_ “I can’t believe he’s back.” _

_ “I wonder why he came back.” _

_ “Who cares? The important thing is that he’s back. Do you still have his number?” _

Sana listens in on the conversation and fears her eyes will get stuck, she’s rolling them so much. She was sitting in the corner, trying to find  a quiet place to pray but they interrupted her, moving into her space. And it’s not like she was surprised at all that Even was back. Sana knew everything and she was one step ahead of anyone, as always. 

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the rest of the booming bass. 

❇❇❇

Eva was too drunk to even register what Noora was saying. All she wanted to do was dance and get more drunk and dance some more and maybe kiss some cute boys. And maybe some cute girls, too. 

She giggled as Noora grew more and more annoyed. 

❇❇❇

Vilde is sitting, talking to the Pepsi Max girls when the news arrives.She squeals on cue with the rest of them. Her heart beats as the excitement courses through her veins because of new gossip and drama. She can’t wait. She texts everyone she knows. 

❇❇❇

Chris is too busy living life to care. She dances to the beat as Casper bops his head  and doesn't even register the excessive dinging coming from her fanny pack.

❇❇❇

And our favorite boy squad are doing what they do best at parties-smoking weed in a bathtub. 

Magnus takes a hit and coughs. The boys laugh at how bad he is at this. Isak pats him on the back a little too rough. 

“Dude”, Jonas says, laughing. “You suck.”

Magnus shots the middle finger at him. “Fuck you”, he croaks, his throat still dry from the smoke and his eyes watery. 

“Not even your mom would want to do that”, Mahdi pipes in. 

The boys laugh and Isak brings to bong to his mouth and breathes in, his limbs relaxing even more as the weed makes his brain more and more fuzzy. He loves this. How for once every day, he can forget about bullshit and just chill and laugh and kick back with the boys. 

“So this girl was totally checking me out”, Jonas says. “Nice brown hair, great body. I’d hit that.”

Mahdi rolls his eyes. His friend was feeling a little too confident these days. “What’s her name?”

“Susan.”

“Susan? No way, bro,” Mahdi said, taking the bong from Isak and breathing in. 

Isak blows out a stream of smoke before saying, “She’s not even hot.”

The boys look at him in surprise. 

“What?”, Jonas says while Magnus makes out an indignant squawk.

Isak shrugs, rubbing under his nose. “She’s not.”

“I think she’s hot”, Mahdi says. 

Isak rolls his eyes and grabs the bong from Mahdi, taking in a lungful of smoke before blowing it out in a steady stream.

“Why do you guys have such low standards?”, Isak says, rubbing his hand across his forehead.

“And who do you think is hot enough then?”

“Easy. I saw her here earlier. Short hair, brown eyes, looks like Natalie Portman.”

“Ah, I know who you’re talking about. I saw her, too,” Mahdi says. “And she’s out of your league.”

Jonas holds a hand out for the bong. “Agreed.”

“She wouldn’t go for you considering how ugly you are”, Mahdi says. 

Isak pouts. 

Mahdi throws a bag of weed to Jonas. “Your turn to keep it.”

“No,” he throws it back at Mahdi. “I don't want to carry that shit around.”

Mahdi throws it back. “Tough shit.”

Jonas throws it back and soon it becomes a ping ball match. Isak and Magnus watch them throw it back and forth and back and forth until Isak is dizzy and sick of it. 

He grabs the bag out of Mahdi’s lap before he can throw it back to Jonas. “I can keep it. I can keep it. Stop.”

Mahdi snatched the bag out of his hands. “I don't know you.”

Jonas rolls his eyes. “He’s been smoking with you for thirty minutes. Let him hold it if he wants.”

Mahdi hands it to him, reluctantly. Isak takes it with a smug smile. “Pussies.”

Jonas smacks him on the head. 

Two girls barge in, their faces animated. 

“Ah, I can’t believe this”, the blonde one says. 

The other short haired girl smiles. “ Me either. I’m so excited he’s back though. _ ”  _

Jonas elbows Isak in the ribs and nods his head in the short haired girl’s direction. “There’s your girl.”

Isak rolls his eyes, his stomach sinking. 

“Hey”, Magnus says but the girls ignore him, still talking about Even. Magnus makes a face and says, “Good luck, Isak.”

Isak looks at the girl, her eyes bright and brown. She’s pretty. He wishes he could feel something for her. He also wishes he never claimed to like her at all. Now he has something to prove to the boys.

“You know what you look like?”, Isak says, plastering on his trademark smirk that’s worked on girls before. 

“No”, the girl says, her face eager. This will be easy. 

“The little boy from Stranger Things”, he says. The boys burst out in laughter and it goads him on. “You know the one who looks like a boy? Eleven.”

“Jerk”, her friend says.

“No, Eleven is hot”, Isak says, putting on an innocent look. “If you’re attracted to twelve year old boys.”

The girl stands stunned. Her friend tugs her towards the door. “Let’s go.”

“I was kidding. Just kidding”, he looks at her. “What’s your name?”

The short haired girl looks him square in the eyes. “Emma.”

“Emma,” he says. “You’re very beautiful.”

Emma smiles, her cheeks turning pink. 

Isak gets up. “We should make out, don’t you think?”

She smiles and presses her lips to his. 

Her friend sighs and leaves. 

“Well done, Isak”, his friends say and they leave, making Isak panic. 

The kiss gets deeper and he reciprocates as much as he can but he wishes he felt something. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket and she pulls away. He’s almost relieved except that she reaches for his belt buckle and he backs away quickly. 

“Not tonight”, he says and kisses her again, his eyes wide open. She’s a great kisser but he feels nothing. 

His phone buzzes again and he pulls away. Emma groans and pulls him back. He steps away and checks his phone. 

Sana has texted him. 

_ Even’s back _ , it says. 

“Isak”, Emma says, pulling his face towards hers with little success. He keeps staring at the phone. She leaves in a huff. 

Needless to say, Isak is shook. 

❇❇❇

Spotted, Lonely Boy Isak Valtersen and Sana Bakkoush talking in hushed voices at a party. Wonder who they’re so heated about…

Only time will tell.

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I love Skam and miss it so much!! I hope you guy enjoyed this chapter :)


	2. He's Back

Hey Gossip Girl here. If anyone has any inkling on why golden boy is back, don’t hesitate to send me a tip. You know me, I always love to be the first one in the know and I always am.   
-Gossip Girl

Isak Valtersen is fiddling with his phone, constantly refreshing the Gossip Girl website, though he’d never admit that out loud(Gossip girl is trash, after all). Everything on there is bullshit. Like when he broke things off with Sara and Gossip Girl spread the rumor that Isak was gay. Which he wasn't by the way.   
New things have showed up since the post announcing Even’s return like the cops busting the party at Eva’s house, Noora rumored to moving on from William with a cute brown haired guy who she was giggling with at said party, and Isak’s hookup with Emma. Things were never a secret in Oslo, no matter how hard you tried.   
There was no new news on Even and why he was here. There was also no news about him and Even and for that, he was grateful. He clicked on the post from Friday, the one announcing Even’s return. Scanning the article, it said the same thing: returned from boarding school, no clue why he’s back. He stared at the grainy photo taken of Even as if that would have all the answers. Even is barely visible in the picture, the snapback is nearly covering his whole face. He’s still tall and lanky. He looks the same as last year. The year he left.   
He spent all weekend, holed up in his room, re-binging Narcos to forget about Even and what his return might mean. Every buzz of his phone sent his heart into his stomach, fearing that it would be a new update on the website. He could imagine what the headline would say: Isak and Even Scandalous Affair. The only messages he’d gotten were from the boys and Sana. The boy’s messages about a party and nothing remarkable. But Sana’s message: It’ll be okay. I’m here if you need me. That made him more and more afraid it would not be okay. It would be fine if only him and Even knew him and Even’s business but now there was another person who knew. And it wasn’t like he didn't trust Sana, he just didn't trust Sana. He didn't trust anyone really. Not since his dad left right when his mom was diagnosed, leaving him to deal with the aftermath.   
He stared at Even’s picture again, his heart pounding against his chest. Maybe he wouldn’t have to run into Even or see him. He did go to a different school, after all.   
“What’s up?”, Magnus says, punching Isak’s shoulder.   
“Where’ve you been?”, Jonas says, plopping right next to Isak on the bench.   
Isak jumps and quickly shuts off his phone, puts it in his front pocket. “I’ve been busy,” he says, looking down at his clasped hands.   
“Busy?”, Mahdi says.   
Isak shrugs. “I was studying with Sana.”  
“For two days straight?”, Jonas says, his thick eyebrows raised.   
“Big test”, he says, avoiding their eyes. He can feel Jonas’s eyes on him. He knows Jonas can sense he’s bullshitting him. He clears his throat. “So, how was your weekend?”  
“Oh my god, did we tell you about the party?”, Magnus says, his eyes wide and childlike. “It was epic! I almost had sex with this one chick.”  
“Key word: almost”, Jonas laughs.   
“I got more than you that night!”, Magnus says, looking offended.   
“Bro, she almost vomited on you”, Mahdi says.  
Jonas and Mahdi laugh while Magnus rolls his eyes. Isak joins in with them, relieved the spotlight is off of him.   
“Whatever, if she wasn’t drunk, I wouldn’t be a virgin.”  
“Who was it?”, Isak asks.   
“Vilde,” Mahdi says.  
“Vilde?”, Isak says, disbelief in his voice.   
Magnus nods, a grin on his face. “We’re totally hooking up again.”  
“Sure, bro,” Mahdi says.   
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Magnus says, bringing a hand to his forehead. “We have to invite Even to lunch today!”  
Jonas and Mahdi groans while Isak’s heart stops.   
“Can we stop this?”, Jonas says.   
“What? He’ll be lonely. We could use a new member in our friend group.”  
“Who says Even wants to hang out with us?”, Mahdi says.  
“Who wouldn’t?”, Magnus smiled.   
Isak stays silent. His mind going back to the grainy photo of Even. Would he be back to Elvebakken? What is he doing now? Is he even back? And wait...what did Magnus mean by invite him to lunch?  
“Me and Even are gonna be best friends, mark my words”, Magnus says, looking like an overexcited puppy.   
“Magnus, Even doesn’t even go here,” Isak says.  
“Uh, yeah he does.”  
Isak narrows his eyes at him, his heartbeats starting to pick up speed. “No, he doesn’t,” Isak says, more to reassure himself than to prove Magnus wrong.   
Magnus tuts, looking at Isak like he’s the idiot. “Yeah. He’s transferring here.”  
Isak faces goes slack. He bows his head and shrugs. “Cool.”  
Magnus smiles, a dreamy look in his eye. “He’ll be here today! During lunch, he’s sitting with us. No arguments.”  
Jonas laughs. “Sure, Mags.”  
“He will.” Magnus says.  
Isak tries to hide the fact that butterflies are whirling in his stomach. He quickly pulls out his phone and sends a text to Sana: The window by the stairs. Now.   
❇❇❇  
Sana is already sitting at the window when Isak comes, his eyes wild.   
“Why didn’t you tell me?”, he says.   
She rolls her eyes. “Sit down, Isak.”  
He sits opposite of her. “Did you know he was coming here?”  
“No, Isak.”  
“Why would he choose to come here? Why not Elvebakken?” Isak takes his snapback off, runs a hand through his hair and puts it back on again.   
Sana watches him with disinterest as he hyperventilates.   
“Shit,” he says. “Shit. Shit.Shit.”  
“Isak, look at me”, she says. “You are fine. Remember what I said at the party? He won’t say anything.”  
Isak looks at her, his eyes still wide. “Do you know why he’s back?”  
“I don't know anything.”  
“And he won’t say anything?”  
Sana rolls her eyes once again. She swears around this boy, that’s all she ever does. “You were both drunk right? He probably doesn’t remember.”  
Isak nods. That isn’t as comforting as it should have been.   
“We should get to class. You can’t be late, you need all the help you can get”, Sana smirks.   
“Ha, ha, Sanasol. Let’s not forget who saved us from failing that assignment last week…”  
Isak freezes, his heart in his stomach.   
Even is walking towards them with his long, lean legs and his perfectly coiffed hair. He looks so effortless as he climbs up the stairs.   
Sana smirks as Isak watches him with his mouth wide open like a fish’s. Even spots them and smiles, nodding his head. “Sana, Isak”, he says before going up the stairs to the third floor.   
“He remembers me,” Isak says.   
“He does.”  
❇❇❇  
Spotted: Even Bech Næsheim on his way to class at his new school, Nissen High. Word on the street is there’s bad blood at Elvebakken. Wonder who Golden Boy is running away from?  
XOXO,   
Gossip Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm planning on updating every Sunday. I churned this one out a few days ago and decided to post this early so maybe I'll have another chapter out this Sunday as well! Stay tuned! XOXO


	3. Lunch Buddies

_ It’s that time of the year again. Revue time. The theatre nerds are going around and recruiting new faces. And it seems some are intent on recruiting the unattainable. This will get interesting. And you know me, I love a free show. _

-Gossip Girl

 

Sana knows it’s hopeless. Eva knows it’s hopeless. Noora knows it’s hopeless. Hell, maybe even Vilde knows it’s hopeless. But she’s determined and it’s something that Sana had always admired in Vilde. Maybe that’s why she agreed to be a co-leader of this stupid Kosegruppa thing. 

Vilde has on her war paint as she charges towards the Pepsi Max Girls, a little nervous. She has on a bright smile as she walks up to them. “Hi!,” she says. 

The girls all look at her, their faces stone and perfect. Sara looks her up and down. Too much time follows before anyone actually speaks. 

Vilde clears her throat and throws on another smile, extra bright. “I was hoping to see if you girls  would be interested in joining Kosegruppa.”

Ingrid raises her eyebrow. “Kosegruppa?”

Vilde nods. “Sana and I are the leaders. It’s really fun. We spread love and kos. Bake bread, make food. Like pasta, your favorite, Ingrid.”

The girls look at Sana with dubious faces. Sana smirks at them and waves. Their eyes show a hint of fear and she can almost see them looking at her hands and checking if she has an open beverage in it. She wishes she did. 

“Would you like to join? The first meeting is this Friday at seven.” Vilde’s eyes are so hopeful and it breaks Sana’s heart, just a little bit. Sana can see her hands shaking as she holds out a flyer to them, a pink paper with baked bread illustrations and kosegruppa in black, loopy letters. 

Ingrid laughs. Vilde flinches at the sound of it. “Kosegruppa? Spreading love? Sounds like a waste of our time. We’ll pass.”

The other girls smirk at Vilde, going along with their leader. 

Vilde’s smile falters. “You could think about it?”

Ingrid rolls her eyes and walks towards Vilde until their faces are inches apart. “Just so you know, I quit carbs two months ago.”

Then she walks off. Her minions follow her. Sana wants to kill her. 

“Sorry, Vilde,” Eva says, putting an arm across Vilde’s shoulder. Her hand idly rubs up and down the length of Vilde’s arm. 

Vilde shakes her head, the smile still on her face. “They’ll think about it.”

Sana raises her eyebrow. She isn’t sure if Vilde’s just confident or oblivious to the fact that these girls hate her. 

❇❇❇

Isak knows he should’ve just ditched school altogether today. Everywhere he goes, Even is there. At the stairs, in the hallways, by his locker and now...at his lunch table. Isak considers running away before the boys see him. He can’t handle this shit right now. 

“Isak! Isak!” 

Isak sighs. Magnus is waving at him wildly with both arms, a big grin on his face. He wonders why he ever decided to be friends with this idiot. He heads towards the lunch table. 

“Isak!”, Magnus crows. “This is Even. Have you met Even?”

Even smiles at him, warm and inviting. “Hello, Isak.”

He stares at him for a second. “Hey”, Isak mumbles before sitting down next to Jonas. And just his luck, his seat is right across from Even’s. He starts to pick the raisins out of his sweet bread. 

“Even was just telling us about his movies! He wants to be a director,” Magnus says, smiling at Even like he was a proud mom. “He made a film about Sarah Palin and Putin! Ha! Amazing. I saw it. Oscar worthy.”

“Thank you, Magnus.”

Isak rolls his eyes and continues to pick at his bread. All the raisins are out so now he’s just ripping his bread into little pieces. 

“So, what’s your favorite color?”, Magnus asks Even. 

Jonas laughs. “Magnus, let him breathe.”

Magnus looks at him, clueless. “What do you mean? I’m trying to get to know my new best bud.”

His phone dings. 

Pappa:  _ How is your mother doing? Are you two free to have dinner with me?  _

Isak rolls his eyes. He types back a reply.  _ You’ll need to send some more money. Rent is due.  _

“It’s red, Magnus”, Even answers. 

“Have you ever went down on a chick?”

Everyone except Even at the table groans. Even laughs. Isak looks up at that and sees how his eyes disappears in his face when he laughs. It’s kind of wonderful. 

“Jesus, Mags”, Jonas groans, slapping his hand on his forehead. 

“What?” Magnus says, his eyes wide. “You went down on chicks. Mahdi said he hasn’t. Wait, Isak, have you?”

Isak feels his cheeks heat up and he looks back down, anywhere that’s not Even’s face. His father replied.  _ I’ll wire some money by Friday but we need to talk. Please tell me when I can come over to have dinner with you guys. _ Isak glares at the screen. As if he would let his dad get anywhere near his mom again. 

_ We need 30,000 NOK,  _ he texts back. Then, he closes his phone and focuses on eating some of the bread.

“Not on a girl”, Even says, glancing at Isak.

Isak feels his face go red. What the fuck? He wants the ground to sink him down further. 

Magnus’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. “With a dude? What are you? Gay?”

Jonas groans and drops his head in his hands. 

Even smiles at him, patient. “No, Magnus. I’m pansexual.”

“Huh? Aren’t you just Bi?”

“Jesus”, Mahdi groans. 

“What?”, Magnus says. 

“Hi,” Vilde says, standing at the foot of the table with Eva, Noora, and Sana by her side. Isak has never been more happy to see Vilde than right now, at this moment. 

“Hello,” Even says, flashing his smile at her. Magnus stares at her, looking sort of like a fish with his mouth opening and closing.

Vilde giggles. “Have you considered joining the Revue this year?”

There was awkward silence as the boys all looked at each other. 

“I don’t know…,” Jonas said, looking at his carton of milk like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Vilde was still smiling, not discouraged by the discomfort of the boys. Maybe it was because of how Even was looking at her with such encouragement and a bright smile. 

She looked at Sana before continuing. Sana smiled and nodded.“Sana and I are the leaders of Kosegruppa and I hear you guys have been interested in joining so we would like to extend an invitation.”

“Kosegruppa?,” Even said. “What does the Kosegruppa do?”

Isak glanced at him. He actually looked interested in this nerdy club. 

“We spread love, make food, cook. We’re all about good vibes, spreading comfort and having a good atmosphere.” She glanced around at all the boys. “Maybe you’d like to join? The next meeting is this Friday.”

Awkward silence ensued. 

“Friday, huh?”, Jonas asked. 

Vilde nodded, eager. 

“I don’t know…”

“Friday sounds great. I’d love to join!,” Even says, surprising everyone. 

“Me, too! Kosegruppa sounds like fun. Count me in,” Magnus says, surprising no one. 

Vilde looked at the other less willing boys. “Would you guys like to join as well?”

“I don’t know,” Mahdi says.

“It is on a Friday, though…,” Jonas says. “We have parties…”

Sana met Isak’s eyes and raised her eyebrows. He could almost hear her saying, _ Isak, join and make your friends join, too.  _ He dropped his eyes. There was no way he was ruining his reputation by joining the Revue. No matter how intimidating Sana was. 

“They’d love to join!,” Magnus says.

Mahdi rolls his eyes. “Speak for yourself,” he mutters.

“Great!,” Vilde says, her face brightening. She holds out a sheet. “Sign this so we know how much food to bring.”

Magnus grabs it and scribbles down his name and the others, too. “Even? How do you spell your last name?”

Even smiles and tells him. The boys groan. Magnus gives Vilde the paper back with a wink. If Isak didn’t know any better, he’d think Magnus joined the stupid Kosegruppa for Vilde. 

“Thank you, you guys! Don’t forget, meeting on Friday at seven.”

Even nods. “I’m looking forward to it.” Then he flashes a smile at Sana. “Nice seeing you, Sana.”

Sana smirks in response then the girls leave. Jonas and Mahdi glare at Magnus. He looks at them like a confused puppy. “What? It’ll be fun! Right, Even?”

Even nods. 

Isak wonders not for the first time, why he’s even friends with Magnus. Even catches his eyes and he looks down, cheeks flushed. 

❇❇❇

Eva and Vilde squeal as soon as they walk away from the table. Noora rolls her eyes. 

“You know Even! You never told us you knew Even?”

Sana shrugs. “You never asked.”

Her phone dings and she sees a simple message from Even:  _ Thank you.  _

❇❇❇

Spotted: Golden boy with new friends. It looks like Even has found a squad but not everyone seems so happy about it. Why the long face, Isak?

-XOXO, 

Gossip Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! I posted early again but hey, that' a good thing right?? Chapter 4 should be up soon! (possibly Sunday) :)


	4. Kosegruppa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain some direct quoting from the first episode of season three. These pieces of dialogue belong to Julie Andem.  
> Enjoy! :)

_ Hey, Gossip Girl here. I’m sure you’re wondering why little ol’ me is at a lame Kosegruppa meeting instead of at a party where drama is dying to unfold. But those parties don’t have Golden Boy and wherever Golden Boy goes, something interesting is always bound to follow. I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens here.  _

-Gossip Girl

 

Friday is the fucking worst. 

Isak suspects that all days of the week must be cursed for him now and it’s all Even’s fault. It’s Even’s fault he’s had a bad week. It’s Even’s fault he’s had a bad Friday. And it’s Even’s fault that he’s stuck at this stupid Kosegruppa meeting. 

The Black Box is partially filled but you couldn’t tell by how loud everyone was talking as they munched on the buns that Vilde prepared. Isak could already see the comfort and chill that Vilde explained. He only wishes he could feel chill as well and maybe he would’ve if he wasn’t sitting next to Even. And that was all Jonas’s fault. He had to pretend that his beating heart and sweaty palms was a symptom of anger directed at Jonas who didn’t get the hint that  _ he _ should sit next to Even and not Isak. Jonas just looked at him weird when Isak tried to come up with an excuse for Jonas to go ahead and sit next to Even. 

“Bro, it’s fine. Just sit down,” Jonas had said but it wasn’t fine. In fact, it was far from fine. Isak was in his own special kind of hell because now he was sitting next to Even and Even’s knees kept knocking against his as he talked with Magnus. Isak was sure he was doing it on purpose. 

“Hi! And welcome everyone!,” Vilde says. “We’re so happy that you decided to join us today for Kosegruppa. This is Sana,”-Sana smirks and nods her head-“Eva,”-Eva tries to wave but the basket of buns is limiting her. She just smiles instead-“And Noora.” Noora looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here. Isak understands the feeling and feels a kindred spirit with her. 

Vilde gestures to herself and for a second, no one says anything. Vilde gestures to herself again, looking at her friends. “Vilde,” they all say, slightly out of sync. 

She shoots an annoyed look at them before continuing. “So, these are our visions for this year’s group: we’re having our group meeting earlier than the other groups because we feel that we have a more important job to do than the costume groups or set design or PR for example. What we thought would be best to have a neat system for the Revue is to split you all into groups or duos, preferably duos. And then we would like for you to divide the days between yourselves. So..um,” Vilde giggles a little. “Sorry,I’m a little nervous.”

Sana smiles and puts an arm around her. 

Vilde gathers herself together. “So, um, two people get together and cook. Oh! It’s also very important for our ‘kose’-group to spread good vibes and comfort each other and spread love. But love doesn’t come easily to most people so I thought we would do a love exercise. You’ll be asking each other questions I’ve found that are supposed to allow vulnerability and closeness towards one another. Then, after, the two of you will stare at each other for four minutes. The four minutes are supposed to create an intimate connection. Fun, right?”

No one says anything but he can see Even nod in his peripheral vision. 

Isak would rather be poking his eyes out or getting his head flushed in a toilet. Or punch Magnus. This was all Magnus’s fault, anyway.

Vilde tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.“If everyone can pair up. I’ll give you two minutes before we began.”

Isak would rather run out of here and binge watch Narcos. 

“Well, I’m going to find a hot chick to pair up with. Good luck guys,” Mahdi says before leaving. 

Isak assumes he’ll probably pair with Jonas. No way is he pairing up with Even. Magnus is probably dying to ask soul searching questions about Even, anyway.

“Hi!,” Emma says, stopping in front of Isak, flanked by the blonde girl from the party and another dark haired girl. 

“Hi,” he mumbles. He looked back down at his phone, hoping she would get the message and go away. 

“So Kosegruppa? Such fun, right?” She laughed and Isak forces a chuckle. 

“We wanted to join a group with all the cool people and…” She looks Isak up and down. “Now, you’re here. Kosegruppa is officially cool.”

Jonas and Magnus started to laugh. 

“Cool? Isak,” Magnus says, sucking in a breath. “Okay.”

Isak glares at him. 

Emma ignores him and keeps staring at Isak. He avoids her eyes, fiddling with his phone. He re-reads his father’s last text message.  _ How is she? _ , it says. 

“So...I was wondering if you’d want to pair up for the exercise? Vilde wanted us to be paired in duos, and Lea and Maria paired up together already and I don’t really know anyone else.” Her eyes are eager and wide and hopeful. 

Isak wracks his brain to come up with an excuse. “Uh...I...already...um…”

Even knocks his shoulder against his. “I thought we were going to do the exercise together.”

“What?,” Magnus says. 

Isak looks at him, startled. Even raises his eyebrows. “Uh...yeah,” he says, a little dazed. Even’s shoulder is pressing against his now and he doesn’t seem to be moving it any time soon. 

Even smiles at Emma. “We were already paired up. Sorry,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. 

Emma’s smile falters. “Uh, yeah. Sure. See you later, Isak.”

Isak nods. 

Magnus pouts. “Even, I thought we would pair up together.”

Isak rolls his eyes. “You can still pair up with him, Mags. He was just saving me from Emma.”

“Well, isn’t she going to think it’s suspicious if we’re not paired? Me and Magnus can partner up next time.” He looks at Magnus and offers a reassuring smile. “Mags, you can use this as an excuse to talk to Vilde. Woo her with what we talked about, remember?”

That seems to placate Magnus as he shoots up from his seat. “Show her how desperate I really am. Desperate is good,” he says, looking at Even. 

Even nods and they bump fists. “Go get her.”

“Who am I gonna partner up with then?,” Jonas says. 

Isak glances at Even and Even winks. 

❇❇❇

Even and Isak sat in front of each other, crisscross applesauce. Isak is trying to avoid looking at Even, pulling at the string on the bottom of his jeans. 

“Okay, we’ll start simple,” Vilde says. “Start with the first set of questions. These are the least probing. So, you should be able to get through them easily. You can start now!”

Even looks at the piece of paper. “Okay, Isak, who would you rather have as a dinner guest?”

“Sigrid,” Isak mumbles, picking at the frayed ends of his jeans. 

Even smiles. “Yeah?”

Isak nods, choosing to stare at Even’s sneakers instead of his face. “And you?”

“Baz Luhrmann.”

Isak scoffs. “I know him. The director of Romeo and Juliet.”

“Yeah? You’ve seen it?” Even’s eyes are bright and hopeful. 

Isak rolls his eyes. “Magnus made us watch it after we viewed your film about Putin and Sarah Palin. Magnus claims it was a ‘cinematic classic’.”

He laughs. “What did you think of it?”

“Weird. A little too extra.”

Even does that smile that makes Isak’s heart pound: the same one from that night. The one where his eyes disappear into his face. Isak quickly looks back down, feeling heat in his cheeks. “Most people say that about my work.”

“It was good, though. Funny.”

“Yeah?”

Isak nods. He looks up and sees Even looking at him like he hung the moon or something when all he did was compliment his weird film. He clears his throat, hoping the theatre’s lighting isn’t bright enough to show how red his cheeks are. He reads the next question of the piece of paper. “So, um, when did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?”

“I sung Gabrielle to myself this morning.”

Isak narrows his eyes. “Gabrielle?”

“What?”

“It’s trash!”

Even puts his hand to his heart and gasps, all dramatic. Isak rolls his eyes at the sight of him. “No, it’s the perfect music to get ready to in the morning. It makes you happy,” Even says. 

“No. That’s the sort of music that makes your ears bleed. Jesus, you have poor taste.”

“And what do you listen to then, Isak?” Even’s grinning, not even hurt at the face that Isak just insulted his music taste and it makes Isak grin a little, too. That was something he noticed when they first met. Isak kind of hates how his heart is now beating a little too fast. 

“NWA. ‘Fuck the Police’,” he says. 

“That’s what you sung to yourself?”

“No. I rapped to myself. Now that’s how you get pumped in the morning. Face the shitty day. Have you heard of my rapping?”

“I’ve heard.”

“You’ve heard of my rapping?,” Isak repeats, eyebrows raised. 

“Mhm.” He smirks. “You kinda suck at it.”

Isak pouts, making Even laugh. 

“Payback for dissing my films,” Even says, a glint in his eye. 

  
  


The second round of questions go smoother now that Isak has loosened up around Even. 

_ If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know? _

Isak wanted to know if he’d be a rich scientist.

Even wanted to know if he would be a famous director. 

Even’s answer causes Isak to asks if he’s going to make films of that are less weird, which makes Even go on and on about artistic license and how every film is weird in their own way. 

_ What is your most terrible memory? _

Isak recounted his dad leaving and wondered why it was so easy to tell Even.

Even made up a story about his pants falling down when he tried to mimic one of his favorite rappers by wearing his pants so that his underwear showed. He didn’t have to wonder why it was hard to tell Isak that his most terrible memory was the night before he left.

It’s the third round that really gets personal. 

“Make three true ‘we’ statements,” Even reads. He sets the paper down and looks at Isak. “I’ll start. We are both in this room...having a good time.”

“We are both in this room being lame.”

Even grins. “We are both in this room looking at each other.”

Isak looks down, his cheeks flushing. He grabs the paper and reads the next question. “Tell your partner what you like about them. Um...I like your shoes,” Isak says then cringes. Who the fuck says that?

Even takes it in stride, preening at the compliment. “I like your eyes.”

Isak wishes a hole in the ground would swallow him up right then and there. 

“Okay!,” Vilde says, making Isak jump. “I hope you and your partner are well acquainted because now, is the hardest part. You must stare at each other for four minutes. No cheating. I will set the timer. So, starting now!”

God. Isak really hates Vilde and whoever came up with this stupid exercise. He’d already forgotten that this was coming up. Even’s already staring at him when he meets his eyes and Isak knows this is a mistake. Even’s eyes are blue and bottomless and does things to Isak that Isak doesn’t want to feel. It’s so stupid how it’s true that you feel the whole world go away when you look into the eyes of someone you like-not that Isak even likes Even. The only thing in his vision is blue. 

These four minutes feel more like hours. 

The first minute is hard. Isak is trying to not just stare at Even’s forehead instead. 

The second minute,Isak feels hypnotised.

The third minute, him and Even’s knees are touching. He doesn’t seem to notice how close they’re getting. It takes him back to that night. Where all they did was stare at each other and going by how that night turned out,staring at each other doesn’t seem to be a good idea.He’s starting to feel overwhelmed. 

By the fourth minute, he breaks the rules and his eyes travel to Even’s lips which are much closer to his face then they were three minutes ago. It’s like his body is on autopilot as he leans toward Even. 

Is it just him or is Even leaning towards him as well?

He can feel Even’s breath on his face, warm. He feels like they’re somewhere else and not at an auditorium surrounded by a bunch of people.

“Time!,” Vilde calls out. 

Isak jerks back. Even is still looking at him. It takes a second to fully realize where they are. The fluorescent lights of the Black Box. People all around them that are now talking and giggling with each other. He can feel his cheeks flame up as he looks around to see if anyone might’ve noticed what just happened. He lets out a gust of air, relieved. Everyone’s too busy talking to their partners to even care. So, why won’t his heart stop beating hard against his chest? Why does he feel that even though no one’s looking over at them, someone still is?

Vilde’s talking but he can’t register a word she’s saying over the beating of his own heart. 

“Isak,” Even says.

He looks at Even who looks at him with worry and looks at him with those blue eyes. Shit. He can’t deal with this right now. 

“I hope you now feel connected to your partner as this will serve you throughout your meetings.”

“Isak, are you okay?” Even touches his knee and he jerks back as if Even has burned him. Maybe he has. 

He gets up and quickly walks out of the Black Box. 

❇❇❇

Spotted: Lonely Boy Valtersen running out of the Black Box. Uh, oh. Seems that Cinderella has fled the scene. And has maybe dropped Even’s heart instead of a glass slipper? They seemed to be getting pretty cozy. Golden Boy never disappoints and I’m dying to see what happens next.

-XOXO,

Gossip Girl

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one week yay! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and if you ever want to speak to me about this story or fangirl about Skam and Evak, you can talk to me on Tumblr at jesswaywardangel.  
> As always, thanks for reading! :)  
> XOXO


	5. Dr.Skrulle

_ One of my sources, JulianD99, sent us a tip: Our Golden Boy spotted walking into The Oslo Center for Mental Health wearing the same baseball cap and hoodie from when he was spotted at the airport. Is he visiting someone? Or could one of the rumors be true? There has been rumors that Even went to an insane asylum last year. Could this confirm one of our suspicions? My guess is... maybe. Wouldn’t it be interesting that there’s a flaw among all that perfection? _

_ -Gossip Girl _

  
  


Even met with Dr. Skrulle every Saturday. Dr. Skrulle was a kooky therapist who sometimes spoke in weird metaphors but he liked her. She was the best therapist he ever had. He liked that she was weird but wise, and not judgy and boring like his past therapists. She’d been his therapist for two years back when he was diagnosed with ADHD before Dr. Skrulle challenged the diagnosis and gave him the right one. When they discovered his high energy was more likely mania instead of hyperactivity. And his mood swings were more serious than they thought. 

“How are you, Even?” Dr. Skrulle’s walls were lined with cat pictures and motivational quotes. 

“I feel like I’m destined to always screw up.” 

“Why do you feel that?”

He shrugged. “I just do.”

“Did something happen recently to make you feel that way? Something with your old friends? Something with your parents?”

He shook his head.

“Something with Isak?”

Even looked down which seemed to be all Dr. Skrulle needed to confirm. 

“What happened with Isak?,” she says. 

“He hates me.”

“Why do you think that?”

Even sighs. “Because...yesterday, we were at a Kosegruppa meeting. Sana invited us. And we were paired up for a love exercise and it seemed to be working like Vilde said it would. We were getting closer. He seemed like he let his guard down and didn't hate me. Then, I guess I took it too far and tried to kiss him and he ran away. Literally, ran away.”

“And you’re blaming yourself for this?”

“Well, it is my fault. I wish I’d done something different.”

“If you could’ve gone back in time and directed it, what would you have done differently?” 

Even thought back on Friday night. He thought of Isak insulting his music choices, Isak telling him about his father, Isak blushing and Isak leaning in towards him as Even leaned in towards him. “Maybe I would’ve not volunteered to be his partner.”   
“Would you go back and change it?”

“Probably not.”

“Even, do you think that perhaps everything isn’t your fault? That you weren’t the reason he ran and that maybe it was something else?”

“I just feel like I never have control over my own life and what happens and I wish I did. Maybe, I would stop making stupid mistakes.”

“Even, you have to stop blaming yourself over everything. And respect that not everything is in your control. You know, sometimes, in films, things happen the best things that happen are unplanned.”

He smiled, thinking of all the scenes that were improvised in one of his short films. She was right.This was one of the things he liked about Dr. Skrulle. She knew that to get to him was to appeal to his movie side. He often liked to look back and wonder what he would’ve did in that situation if he was the director of his own life. It made him feel in control. It unsettled him to think that nothing was in his control. He hated to think of a thing called fate where no matter what you did, you would always end up somewhere else because that’s what some unforeseen force destined you to be. “I guess. But most of the time, they can’t use that footage.”

She rolls her eyes. “Okay, well, let’s focus on the good things that happened. What were the good things that happened?”

“I learned new things about him. He seemed to open up to me. I got to stare into his eyes for four minutes,” he says, thinking back to last night with a smile. The staring was his favorite part. Isak’s eyes were something he didn’t mind drowning in. 

“And was that planned? Did you plan for him to open up to you or even be comfortable with you when you volunteered to be his partner?”

“No.”

“So it was something out of your control but it was something good that happened, right?”

He nods. “You’re right. How are you always right?”

Dr.Skrulle laughs, crows feet appearing near the corner of her eyes.  “It’s my job.”

“How long did you go to school to deal with crazy people like me?”

“Eight years. And you’re not crazy.”

“It’s hard to believe that sometimes.”

“You know, you’re like a tomato who thinks he’s a vegetable but in reality, is a fruit.”

Even narrows his eyes. “What?”

She stares at him, eyes wide, like what she’s saying is obvious and he should understand. 

He stares back, raising his eyebrows. 

Dr.Skrulle sighs. “ Okay, you calling yourself crazy is like a tomato thinking they’re a vegetable when really you’re not crazy which means you’re really just a fruit. Get it?”

“Yeah…,” Even says, not getting it at all. 

“You seem confused. The point is that you’re not crazy. Okay? Can you say that for me? You’re not crazy.”

“There’s a lot of people who think so.”

“Who thinks you’re crazy?”

“Probably my old friends. My family. Isak. Everyone.” 

“Remember when I said that you are your own worst critic? Often times, what we think of ourselves and what we think other people see us as aren’t exactly the truth.”

Even nods. 

“Speaking of friends, have you considered talking to your old friends like we talked about?,”she says. 

“I’m not sure if they would want to speak to me.”

“Why do you think that?”

“They haven’t reached out to me.”

“Maybe they’re waiting for you to reach out to them. Have you thought of that?”

Even hadn’t. 

“You should try. You won’t know if they truly hate you unless you talk to them. It might surprise you to see that they have nothing against you at all.”

“Okay.”

“Now, have you been taking your medication?”

“Every day.”

“Good.” She scribbled something down on her clipboard then looked up at him, a soft smile on her face. “This may be a bit unprofessional but I just want to say how proud I am of you. You’ve come a long way. You should be proud of yourself, too.”

Even wishes that he was. 

❇❇❇

Mama was having one of her bad days today. It had taken him longer to get her to get out of bed and to at least eat something. She seemed to be in her own world today. Dr. Skrulle told Isak that she would sometimes have days like this and have days worst than this. She said the best thing to do when taking care of his mom was to be patient.  _ Give her time _ , she said.  _ Your mother is like a fine work of art. You can’t rush it to cooperate, you have to have patience. _ Isak never understood what came out of Dr. Skrulle’s mouth most of the time. But Isak had taken the patience thing to heart. Fifty percent of the time, it worked. 

“Mama,” he says, leaning on the closed bathroom door. “We have to leave in five minutes.”

She didn’t answer and he sighed. His mama was trying, he knew that. He was trying as well. It was times like this where he truly resented his dad more than usual. He was supposed to be the one waking up early and taking his mom to therapy sessions. He was supposed to be the one trying to get her to eat and take her medication. He guessed  _ “In sickness and in health” _ meant shit to his dad. 

He plopped on the couch and turned on his phone. There were messages from the group chat and Jonas.

 

_ Mahdi, 8:02 pm: What the fuck happened, Isak? _

_ Jonas,8:05 pm: Bro, are you okay? _

_ Magnus,8:06 pm: Isak, you hurt Even’s feelings. What did you do? _

_ Jonas, 8:10 pm: Did you two fight or something? _

_ Magnus, 8:13 pm: He was devastated. He looked like someone killed his cat. What happened Isak? Even cancelled our plans to get kebabs after. _

_ Mahdi, 8:15 pm: Chill, Mags.  _

_ Magnus, 8:15 pm: I won’t chill. Even is apart of this group now and Isak hasn’t been welcoming. What did you say to him, Isak? _

_ Magnus, 8:20 pm: Isak? _

_ Magnus, 8:21 pm: Isak, are you there?  _

_ Magnus, 8:22 pm: You have to apologize to Even. _

_ Jonas, 8:23 pm: Chill. Who says Isak’s the reason he’s upset. Maybe something else happened. I’ll try calling him. _

_ Jonas, 8:24 pm: He’s not answering.  _

_ Mahdi, 8:30 pm: He’s probably busy. _

 

Then a separate text from Jonas:  _ Did something with your mom? _

 

Isak rolled his eyes and ignored the group chat. Magnus was overreacting as usual. He did feel a bit of relief that they didn’t see what had happened. 

At least they didn’t notice that he was almost about to kiss Even in front of everyone.

Since Kosegruppa, he hadn’t gotten a good night of sleep. He rarely did, anyway. He spent the whole night, tossing and turning, replaying the whole thing in his mind. His heart hadn’t stopped trying to jump out of his chest since it happened. 

His mama stepped outside of the bathroom, fully dressed. Her hair was even combed. 

He smiles and grabs her purse. “Ready?”

She nods. 

He only replied to Jonas’s text: _ My mom’s fine. I’ll tell you later.  _

❇❇❇

When Isak signed his mama in, he noticed that they were actually on time this time. Isak felt a swell of pride. Maybe he was getting better at this thing. He and his mama sat down and proceeded to wait. 

❇❇❇

Even smiles at Dr. Skrulle as she reminded him that she’d see him next Saturday.

❇❇❇

Isak was fiddling with his phone but seemed to sense Even’s presence as he looks up just as Even is walking back into the front of the office. He has his back turned as he wishes the receptionist to have a good day.

He freezes when he turns and sees Isak

All Isak can do is stare. 

_ Would he come towards me? _ , Isak thinks. _ Is he going to say hi? Should I stay hi first? I should probably say hi first.  _

Isak holds up a tentative hand and waves. 

Even ignores him as he leaves through the double doors. 

❇❇❇

Spotted: Golden Boy and Lonely Boy at The Oslo Center For Mental Health. Did my eyes deceive me or did Even just give Isak the cold shoulder? Seems he’s still hurt from last night. 

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	6. We are Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 has finally arrived!! I'm so sorry for this being a month late. I started my first semester of college(which was hella stressful) and I had a killer case of writer's block. I'm floored by the support I've gotten so far for this story and for everyone's kind words while this story was on an (unofficial) hiatus. You guys helped me push through my writer's block and brought hope that people want to read this story. Comments mean the world to me and really pushed me to not give up on this story. I hope you guys are having a great Christmas and a happy Monday for those who don't celebrate Christmas. Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

_Our sources confirm that Golden Boy went to The Oslo Center for Mental Health alone and that he’s seeing a therapist. Remember the rumors that Even spent the year he was away at an insane asylum? Well, maybe it’s not really a rumor at all. To those wondering why Lonely Boy was there as well, all I can say is…who cares?  He’s irrelevant. The real question is: what is Even hiding? Any guesses? I’m dying to know what you think. Send me a tip._

_-Gossip Girl_

 

Isak worked himself up into a fit before going to his usual lunch table with the boys. He played different scenarios in his head and theorized how he would react to Even at the lunch table.

Scenario One: He acts all cool and doesn’t glance Even’s way once. But he quickly scratched that out. With Even, being cool was thrown out the window. He couldn’t even fake coolness if he tried.

Scenario Two: He acts normal and pretends that Saturday never happened. That Isak doesn’t give a fuck that Even ignored him. Even if he does. Even if he’s been trying to come up with reasons why Even would ignore him. And he didn’t use to care. He really didn’t. Why the fuck is he caring now?

Scenario Three: He doesn’t go to lunch at all and hides out in the bathroom or the library. But that would make the boys suspicious. Especially Jonas, who already looked at him like he would break at any minute since he started acting flighty when Even came back. Isak briefly danced with the idea that somehow Jonas knew. It relieved and terrified him at the same time.

As he neared the lunchroom, he schooled on a neutral, not even paying attention to how fast his heart was racing and Jesus Christ, why the fuck was he working himself over this so hard? What was the big deal? He wished he could slap himself right now without seeming crazy.

He wished he didn’t feel a little disappointed that Even wasn’t at the lunch table.

❇❇❇

Even was nervous. There, he could admit it now. Dr. Skrulle always said that owning your feelings was better than hiding them. So, there. He was nervous. And it didn’t help that everyone seemed to be looking at him and whispering around him. It made him paranoid since the Gossip Girl post about him. Everyone knew he was crazy now.

He and Sana were sitting outside during lunch and she was staring at him, waiting for him to start whatever conversation he wanted to have. He could tell she already knew what was up.

“You want to talk about the boys, right?” Sana said, sparing no expense.

Even gave a little laugh, looking at Sana with fond eyes. “No BS with you, right?”

She smirked and took a sip of her tea. “Nope.”

“How’s Elias?” he says.

She rolls her eyes fondly. “Same old Elias. Still not sure what he wants to do. He says he’s taking the year off to find himself. We’ll see how that goes.”

Even laughs. “Yeah. You know, I miss your mother’s cooking.”

Sana smiles. “She misses you.”

Hope blooms in him. “Is she the only one?”

She hesitates at that, looking down at her tea. “Uh...I don’t know. They weren’t ecstatic to hear you were back. Maybe Elias is okay with it.”

“I see,” Even says, trying to hide the disappointment. He looked back up at Sana. “Did they tell you what happened?”

Sana glanced down at her tea instead of meeting his eyes. “No.”

He wondered if she did know but wouldn’t tell him. He wondered if she believed what was on Gossip Girl. That he was crazy, and he spent a year in an “insane asylum.” She would be half right.

“I was hoping that someday I would be able to talk to them. Do you think they would want to talk to me?” he said, already feeling the disappointment when she inevitable said no. He glanced down at the table. He can see his reflection in it. It’s distorted, and he wonders if everyone else sees him like this now. Something broken. Even has learned in life that people don’t want broken things, that they’re always too much work.

“Of course they would. I know Elias would love to talk. He’s pissed though that you never visited when you came back.”

Even drums his fingers on the edge of the table. “I figured that I wasn’t welcomed.”

“You’re always welcome.”

Even gives a tiny smile, still not meeting Sana’s eyes. He’s afraid what he’ll find in them. Sana rests her hand on his arm, waiting until he looked back at her. She offers him a smile. “I’ll talk to Elias for you. I know he’ll want to see you.”

He felt a little hope. If Elias would forgive him, maybe the others would, too. Even couldn’t help the grin that took over his whole face, his eyes disappearing into his face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah."

 ❇❇❇

 When Even finished his talk with Sana, there was still a few minutes of lunch left. Even barely sits down at the lunch table before Magnus coughs and gestures for him to sit beside him, which is right across from Isak.

“This is stupid,” Isak says, hiding his face in his hands.

“It’s not. You two have been messing up this group. We missed two parties this weekend because of you two. Two!” Magnus says, like it’s the worst thing ever. “And it’s all your fault, Isak.”

“What?” Isak says, scrunching up his face. “How is it my fault? You could’ve still went to the party without me.”

“We go together or not at all. Bro code,” Mahdi says and for a moment, Isak feels a little warm at that before he opens his big mouth again. “And plus, Jonas wouldn’t come if Isak wasn’t coming and two boys isn’t a party so…”

Isak rolls his eyes.

“Isak, apologize to Even,” Magnus says.

Isak looks at Jonas who shrugs. “I’m not apart of this.”

“Is this because of Even being crazy, Isak?” Magnus said.

Even lowered his eyes at that and Isak looked like he wanted to punch Magnus in the face.

“Dude,” Jonas said, putting his face in his hands.

“What?” Magnus said. “I don’t judge you, Even. My mom is bipolar.”

“What?” Isak said. “Your mom’s bipolar?”

Magnus looked at Isak. “Uh, yeah,” Magnus said like it was public knowledge. “It doesn’t matter right now. Apologize to Even.”

 “He doesn’t have to apologize. He did nothing wrong,” Even said, giving Isak a reassuring smile.

“But-”

“Hi!” Emma said, stopping at the boys table, a bright smile on her face, looking straight at Isak.

Isak waves at her, dread curling inside him.

“I was wondering if you would want to go to a party this Friday,” she said.

Isak looked down at the plastic spoon in his hand and twirled it around. “This Friday?”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t stand to look at her. Her eyes were so wide and hopeful. He regretted kissing her at that party. She was probably thinking he was interested in her.

Before Isak could come up with an excuse to get him out of this, Mahdi spoke up, making this the second time Isak has wanted to punch him. “He’d love to go. Would you mind us tagging along, too?”

Emma switched her wide eyes over to Mahdi as if suddenly remembering that there were other people at the table. “Oh, of course. Yeah.” She glanced back at Isak, a glimmer in her eyes. “I’ll see you, Friday, Isak?”

He managed a weak grin at her which seemed to be enough for Emma. She walks back to her circle of friends, and they burst out in giggles.

“What the hell?” Isak said, glaring at Mahdi.

Mahdi shrugged. “You owe us. And maybe you can introduce us to some of her pretty friends, too.”

“Wait-Isak you didn’t apologize to Even yet,” Magnus said.

Isak groaned. When would things ever go his way?

❇❇❇

On Friday, Emma’s party was all the boys could talk about. They were far too cheery this early in the morning. The conversation revolved around how many “hot chicks” would be there and Isak tuned out of that conversation, picking raisins out of his sweet bread instead.

“Isak, it’s your turn to get it this time,” Mahdi said, watching Magnus douse syrup on his waffles with longing. Mahdi glanced at his now empty plate and sighed.

“What?”

Mahdi sighed. “The beer. It’s your turn.”

Isak groaned. “I covered already.”

“And when was that?” Jonas said, raising his thick eyebrows. “Oh, wait, that was two months ago. Who covered for you for every time you didn’t have money?”

Isak lowered his eyes. Money was tight with his papa gone. He wondered how long he could get away with not buying beer before the other boys caught on.

Jonas backtracked on his words, noticing the guilty look on Isak’s face. “Sorry, bro. I can spot you again this time if you want.”

“I can help you pay for it,” Even spoke up, looking at Isak with soft eyes like he somehow knew why Isak was never able to get beer.

“It’s fine-”

“I’ll help. We can even get it legal,” he said, holding up his ID. “We’ll go after school.”

Isak stared at Even with wide eyes and the boys all cheered. “Even you’re a life saver,” Magnus said, looking at Even like he was a messiah. Isak was beginning to think that maybe Magnus was having an unhealthy obsession with Even. Seriously, it was getting a little creepy.

Even raised his eyebrows at Isak. “We can go after school before pregame?”

And Isak just stared. This was the first time since Saturday that Even said a word to Isak. He barely spoke to him all week and now he was offering to help him buy beer which now that Isak thought about it, would mean they would be alone for at least an hour before the boys joined them. Thinking about being alone with Even made Isak forget to breathe.

Jonas nudged him and gave him a strange look.

Isak blinked. He coughed to hide how flustered he probably looked. “Uh…yeah. That’ll be fine.” He nodded and plastered on a grin. “Cool.”

Even grinned and nodded. “Cool.”

❇❇❇

To say that Isak was anxious for the entire day leading up to getting beer with Even was an understatement.

Even Sana noticed. Sana notices everything.

“Why are you being weird?” Sana said, eyes narrowed. “Isak!” She punched him in the arm when he didn’t respond.

He blinked and turned away from the window he was gazing at. “What?”

She raised her eyebrows and somehow that reminded him of Even, and that lead to his heart jumping in his throat because he was going to be alone with Even getting beer in about one hour. Shit.

“I’ve been basically talking to myself and doing this whole assignment by myself while you’ve been daydreaming.” She pushes the paper to Isak. “There’s three questions left. You do them.”

“Okay.”

Apparently, this makes Sana suspicious. She narrows her eyes at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“You darted your eyes. You’re lying.”

Jesus. It was like Sana was a mind reader or something. “I’m just anxious about the test coming up.”

Sana looked at him long and hard then smirked. “I don’t believe you but okay, let’s go with that.”

Isak rolled his eyes and snatched the paper. “Whatever.”

❇❇❇

Isak felt like his heart was going into overdrive and if this is what it would feel like every time he was with Even, he was worried he was going to die from a heart attack at a young age.

They were taking the tram to get the beer and every time the tram jostled, his arm brushed against Even’s and it was hell. He could feel Even staring at him and he looked over at him.

Even was bold. He kept staring, not caring that Isak caught him. “What?” Isak said.

“I wanted to apologize for Saturday.”

Isak’s eyes widened. “I-it’s okay. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“I ignored you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

So, he had seen him. Isak had kinda been trying to convince himself that maybe Even hadn’t seen him and now he could toss that notion out. He wasn’t as relieved as he would expect himself to feel. It made him feel worse.

He looked down at his sneakers. “It’s fine.”

“I just.” Even sighs. He’s never seen Even look as nervous as he was here. It was sometimes hard to believe that someone like Even could ever be anything but confident. “I didn’t want anyone to know I went there.”

“It was all over that Gossip Girl sight.”

“Yeah. More rumors about my disappearance.”

Isak had the urge to ask him why he left. Sometimes, last year, he would wonder if it was because of him then dump that thought because why would someone as insignificant as him cause Even to leave?

“I’m just sorry,” Even said. “I don’t want you to think I hate you or anything.”

“It’s fine.”

“Cause I don’t hate you,” Even said, looking at him with something that Isak couldn’t describe in his eyes. “I hope we can be friends.”

Isak nodded. “We are friends.”

❇❇❇

Magnus was wasted by the time they reached the party. Magnus’s arms rested on Even and Mahdi’s shoulders as they basically dragged him to the party.

“You guys are so sweet,” Magnus said, heart eyes. He pressed a sloppy kiss to Even and Mahdi’s cheeks.

Mahdi dropped Magnus’s arm as an attempt to get out of his reach but failed. Isak, Jonas and Even laughed as Mahdi groaned and attempted to rub Magnus’s kiss off on his shoulder.

The music could be heard before they even reached the party and once they entered the house, the music seemed like it was vibrating through them.

The boys all filed off one by one. Jonas was first when he spotted a dude with weed. Magnus spotted Vilde and started singing her name as he stumbled towards her, freeing Mahdi to go talk to the cute girl with an afro.

Isak and Even stood side by side, leaning against the wall, next to the drinks, and watching everyone dance. For once, it was a comfortable silence between them. Isak pretended not to notice every time Even’s arm would brush against his whenever Even shifted or lifted his arm to take a sip of his soda. Isak wanted to ask why he wasn’t drinking. He filed it away as another Even mystery.

Even bumped his shoulder against Isak’s with his own. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“You have to be thinking about something.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah.” He glanced at Isak and laughed, his whole body tilting over.

“What?”

“You look like I just challenged you to a duel or something. You do that a lot.”

“I do not.”

“You just did it again.”

Isak huffed. “Whatever.”

Even laughed. “It’s adorable.”

Isak scoffed and prayed the room was dark enough that Even couldn’t see how red his face was. “What are thinking about, then?”

“How obvious it is that those two are into each other,” Even said, pointing over at the girl and boy talking to each other.

“How do you know?”

“The way he looks at her. Look his eyes are following her as she’s going to get drinks.”

Isak’s too busy looking at the excitement in Even’s face to notice the boy and the girl.

“I bet they met at a movie theatre. They were the only ones that showed up to a very old movie that no one their age has heard of. And now they just keep running into each other and one of them is waiting for the other to make the next move.”

“Really?” Isak said. “What happens next?”

“He’s planning to kiss her tonight. But he doesn’t know she’s leaving after tonight to America. She doesn’t plan on telling him.”

Isak perks up, watching Even instead of the boy and girl. Even has that half grin, where only one corner of his mouth is lifted. It seems like he’s in another world, in the girl and boy’s universe. “Why?”

“She doesn’t think he feels the same way. It’s a tragic love story.”

Isak feels angry at the thought of it. “That’s not fair.”

Even smiles and Isak’s heart breaks at the sight of it. It seems too bitter to be called a smile. “Just like life.”

Isak doesn’t know what to say about that.

“There’s beauty in tragedy, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know,” Isak said. “I think tragedy is just tragedy.”

“But the best movies end in tragedy. Because it’s like life.”

 Isak doesn’t like the way that sounds, it hits too close to home. He hates the look on Even’s face, how resigned it is. “What about those two?” Isak points over at another couple, wanting to see the brightness that was just in Even’s eyes. They’re sitting on a couch and sharing a beer and laughing with each other. The girl’s head is nestled into the boy’s shoulder. “Will they end in tragedy?”

Even shakes his head. “Maybe they’ll survive. It seems like they bonded at parties before falling in love. The boy kept seeing her at parties, she would always get crazy drunk and he would save her every time.”

Isak is drunk on the glimmer Even’s eyes get when he makes up stories about these strangers at the party. He spots a group of guys and points to them. “What about those guys? What’s their story?”

The glimmer in Even’s eyes dim and the smile drops from his face. His eyes widen. Suddenly, Isak is scared for Even. “What’s wrong?”

The boys spot Even and the one with a shaved head waves at him. Even grabs his hand. “We should go get some drinks, yeah? I heard they have some beer in the kitchen. Let’s go there.”

Isak doesn’t believe his excuse and wants to question it. Instead, he lets Even drag him out of the view of the group of boys who are now looking at them with strange expressions.

❇❇❇

Spotted: Golden boy’s old squad. Well, well, well, our dear Even has learned the biggest lesson of them all: you can never outrun your past. I hear some of his friends were dreading his return. I wonder what’s going to happen next. Ugh, I just love Golden Boy. Drama follows him. Pull out a chair and some popcorn because you won’t wanna miss what’s going to happen next. I, for one, can’t wait.

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! And remember to leaves kudos and comment to tell me what you thought of this chapter. Happy holidays!


	7. Even's Old Squad

_ Hey, Gossip Girl here. Golden Boy is shook and things are about to get interesting. I’m excited to see what happens and I’ve got a front row seat. Jealous? _

_ -Gossip Girl _

Even’s face is twisted in fear as he tugs Isak through the throngs of partygoers. His hand is clutching on to Isak’s so tight, he’s starting to lose feeling in his fingers. It’s hectic to get through the throngs of people. Someone elbows Isak’s ribs, and some drunk person spills beer on his arm which is shitty because he’s wearing his favorite jacket. Isak would be upset about it if he wasn’t so worried about Even.

When they reach the kitchen, Even’s grip on his hand doesn’t relax. They lean on the counter and Isak watches as Even takes deep breaths. He looks like he’s counting between every inhale and exhale. Isak wishes he could do something, anything because this Even is worrying him. 

“Hi!” Emma said.

Isak blinked, tearing his eyes away from Even to look at her. She was right in front of him, smiling brightly. When did she even get here? “Hi,” Isak said.

“I’m so glad I found you! I was wondering when you would come. Now the party has officially started.”

Isak laughs awkwardly, glancing over at Even who’s staring at the floor and is still squeezing the living shit out of Isak’s hand. Emma’s doing that thing again, where her face is open and her eyes are wide and bright and she looks at Isak like he hung the moon and he’s the reason she wakes up in the morning and it’s freaking Isak out.

“We should dance! I love this song,” Emma said, her eyes twinkling.

Isak glances at Even again. “Uhh…”

“Even! Even!” Magnus said, running over to Isak and Even. He looks like an overexcited puppy, grabbing Even’s arm and bouncing on his feet. “Vilde kissed me! She just kissed me!”

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Mahdi says as he and Jonas join them. Mahdi is shaking his head like he can’t believe it himself.

Isak watches Even. The way his face completely transforms from freaked   
out  to happy in a split second.  His eyes lit up and the smile where his eyes disappear completely into his face spreads across his face. It amazes Isak how quickly Even could put a mask on. He wonders how often he did it.

“Yeah?” Even says, smiling down at Magnus. “That’s great!”

Magnus sighs and touches his lips like a love-struck girl. “It was magical.”

Isak refrains from rolling his eyes.

“Looks like you’re in love, bro,” Mahdi says with a stone face.

“What’s with the face, Mahdi?,” Isak said.

“Idiot pulled me from a potential hookup.” Mahdi tries to grimace but it only comes off as fondly exasperated as he sighs.

Jonas ruffles his hair and makes a frowny face. “Aw, poor Mahdi.”

“Lucky girl, though,” Isak pipes up.

The boys laugh at Mahdi’s expense. Mahdi rolls his eyes, a smile fighting its way on his lips. “Whatever.”

Isak notices Emma is gone and he feels something in his chest lift. He’s never been more grateful for his boys.

The five boys that has Even so upset comes into the kitchen and it feels like all the air is sucked out of the room. Isak sees again how another mask comes on, how his face is now fearful again.

“Even,”the boy with the shaved head said. He’s flanked by four other boys. One of them looks uncomfortable, staring at the ground, his long hair falling into his face.

Even’s eyes go wide and his face blanches. He averts his eyes to the ground and shuffles on his feet. “Elias,” he mutters. 

Isak asses this Elias. The boy is smiling and doesn’t seem to have any ill intent at Even. His face is warm and open and he looks genuinely happy to see Even. So why does Even look so shy and afraid?

There’s a brief silence where no one speaks. Everyone is staring each other down, curious by the other. 

“How have you been?,” the boy with the floppy hair said. His eyes were twinkling and for a second, he reminded him of Emma. Isak steps closer to Even. 

Even doesn’t respond. His eyes are still trained to the ground. Isak feels a sense of protectiveness of Even and wants to take him away from this. It’s clear that Even doesn’t want to be speaking to them. 

“Who are you guys?” Magnus said, frowning at the boys. 

“I’m Elias. This is Mutta, Yousef, Adam, and Mikeal,” Elias said. The boys all nod at them. 

“Hi,” Magnus said. “I don’t think Even wants to speak with you guys right now. So you should leave.”

“I think we’ll let Even speak for himself.” Elias crosses his arms. The boy, Yousef, starts to shuffle back. He looks uncomfortable, shifting on his feet. 

“He doesn’t seem to want you here,” Magnus said, stepping closer to Elias. 

“Mags,” Jonas says, a warning. 

Elias smiles. It’s different this time, more of a mocking one than a warm one. He looks Magnus up and down. Isak is pretty sure that Elias could beat Magnus’s ass and he doesn’t want to see that theory tested out. “And who are you?”   
“His best friend,” Magnus said. 

Elias’ eyebrows shot up and he chuckles. “Okay.”

“So you should leave. You’re making him uncomfortable.”

“I’ll leave when he says I should leave.”

Magnus’ mouth twitches then he pushes Elias, hard. Elias stumbles and Isak knows that it's all gonna go downhill from here. 

Mahdi and Jonas try to grab him but Elias reaches him first. He pushes Magnus back,harder. Magnus stumbles. 

Then, everything seems to happen all at once. 

Elias punches Magnus. Magnus reels back and groans, covering his face with his hands. 

Mahdi gets pissed and pushes Elias, making the boy stumble back. Jonas and Isak grab both his arms before he does anything else. “What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?,” Mahdi is saying as the boys struggle to hold him back. Mahdi fights against them. Jonas moves to wrap both arms around his chest, his muscles bulging as he struggles to keep him in place. Isak has to stand in front of Mahdi and wrap his arms around Mahdi’s middle, trying to stop him from going at Elias. 

“Mahdi, chill,” Jonas says in his soothing voice. 

“I’ll fucking kill you, bro!” Mahdi spits. 

Elias’ eye is purple and two of the boys are straining to hold Elias back as well. Isak has never seen mahdi this pissed. In Isak’s mind, Mahdi’s eyes are throwing flame balls at Elias. 

“Elias!” Sana says, grabbing Elias’ arm. It seems to be the only thing that gets through to the boy as he glares daggers at Mahdi. Elias glances at her and immediately calms down. Sana finally wrangles the boy away. “Elias, let’s go!” she says, tugging his arm. The boys follow. Isak stares after them, wondering who was Elias to Sana. 

“Fuck is wrong with that guy, huh?” Mahdi is yelling but he’s struggling less now. 

Even is nowhere to be found. Magnus isn’t either.  

Isak sees a few people staring at them and he didn’t realize they attracted a crowd. He’s relieved that it seems that no one called the cops. 

“You cool?” Jonas says, letting Mahdi go. 

Mahdi nods, his face relaxed and not as angry as before. He’s breathing heavily. “I’m cool.”

Isak looks around before spotting Even on the couch with Magnus. Magnus is making faces, holding a paper towel to his face. 

“Guys,” Isak says, pointing over to Even and Magnus. 

They all head over. Magnus’s shirt has flecks of blood on it and his eye is purple and a little swollen. Even is pressing tissue paper on his nose and Magnus groans. The blood is already staining the tissue paper. Isak diverts his eyes.

“We should take him to the hospital,” Even said, helping Magnus up. 

“Why is everything spinning?” Magnus groans. 

Jonas nods. “We should get him to a hospital.”

❇❇❇

Isak hates hospitals. They always smell bad, like bleach mixed with sick. And he hasn’t had the most fond memories here. He remembers waiting in the emergency room with his mama and papa and having to stay overnight because mama had broken her wrist punching her fist through the wall. That had been the final straw for his papa. Either his mama got help or he would leave. 

“Sometimes you can’t help people unless they want to be helped,” he remembered his papa saying to him. 

He left a month later with only a letter saying he was sorry and a shiny debit card that he said he would add money to. Leaving Isak alone with his mother who thought demons were crawling on the walls and the only way to get them out was to scrub them away. It was Isak who forced her to go to therapy. It was when she was feeling better that he felt hope. It was one bad day that made his father leave. 

“Geez, calm down Mags. You broke your nose, not your lungs,” Jonas said, rubbing his forehead.

Magnus groans again, this time even louder and Isak is sure it’s on purpose. Magnus’s groans should be annoying but it keeps the waiting room from being so quiet. It also distracts him from the fact that he’s sitting so close to Even on the two person loveseat. His thigh is pressed against Even and everytime he moves his arm, it brushes against Even’s. Isak feels the urge to put his hand on Even’s knee to still it, to calm him down. He clenches his fists. 

He looks anywhere but Even. There’s only one other person in the waiting room besides them. An old dude with a beard like Dumbledore’s. He looks like he’s had a rough night. His head is tipped back and his mouth is open, completely asleep. How someone can fall asleep in a strange place full of strangers who could easily steal his wallet(if he had one) is beyond him. He can’t even sleep in a classroom full of people he knows. 

Even keeps jiggling his leg, causing his leg to brush against his. Isak is starting to think this closeness and all of this touching is being done on purpose. 

It’s almost a relief when they finally take Magnus in to look at him. The doctor is surprised to see the other boys follow Magnus and requests for just one to come with him. Mahdi volunteers. 

Isak, Even, and Jonas plop back down on the uncomfortable seats. Jonas sighs and rubs a hand over his face. 

“I’m sorry, guys,” Even says, his head bowed. 

Jonas furrows his big, bushy eyebrows. “Sorry for what?”

“Magnus got his nose busted because of me,” Even said. 

“That’s not your fault,” Isak says. He wants to put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. He does it. 

Even shakes his head. “It was my fault they even showed up, probably. If I just talked to them…” He sighs. “I cause more problems for you guys.”

“Bro, chill. We’re not mad,” Jonas says, a gentle smile on  his face. The same smile he gave Isak when he reassured him that everything would be okay when his father left. The tension in Even’s shoulders relaxes and Isak isn’t surprised that Jonas’s tone and smile has a calming effect on Even. It did for him. 

“You’re not mad?” Even is looking straight at Isak and Isak feels his cheeks go red. 

He looks down at his hands and gives a jerky nod. “Of course we’re not.”

❇❇❇

Spotted: Even with his new squad. Golden Boy seems happy but I’m hoping that won’t last. Happy Even equals no drama and that’s no good. 

Something tells me that it won’t last anyway. Remember that rumor about Even and Mikeal? I wonder if that is true as well?

 

XOXO,

 

Gossip Girl

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! I'm so sorry for the chapter being posted so late. I just started college and I have been slowly realizing that college is taking away all my free time so please bear with me. If I don't update in time, I promise I'm not abandoning this story. Thank you guys for bearing with me, you all rock!  
> Don't forget to leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed this chapter or to yell at me in the comments for not updating as frequently as I should. :)


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